EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland welcomes a diverse population of students and staff. We believe that excellence can be achieved through recognising and celebrating the value of every individual.
We are committed to developing and upholding a culture based on respect, inclusiveness, transparency and open-mindedness. We will proactively advance equity and inclusive practice in our activities and through effective and collaborative action, ensuring that we all have the right to be seen, heard and celebrated.
Please check out our Anti-Racism Action Plan, (ARAP) together with the accompanying updates, which demonstrate our progress towards being an actively anti-racist institution with a zero tolerance approach to racism. The School of Music, and every programme within the School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film has their own ARAP, which you are encouraged to contribute to.
We continue to grow and improve, learning from each other on our journey. The following groups have been established by students and alumni to provide support to any student who identifies as Black or a Person of Colour:
You may want to take a look at our Taking Pride at RCS #It Gets Better video, which shows some of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans students and staff sharing their positive experiences of being LGBTQIA+ at the Conservatoire. Alongside our “It Gets Better” video, you may be interested in our Trans & Gender Diversity Policy, which details how we support our trans and gender diverse students and staff. Please also check out our Guidance on Sharing Pronouns, which you can access by contacting our EDI Team, pending the development of the EDI portal page.
We have a Trans Union which provides support students who are trans or non-binary, and which has worked closely with the EDI Team in promoting trans awareness within our staff body.
Our LGBQIA+ Society is currently awaiting a new person to take the helm, so please keep checking with the Student Union about the status of the society.
We also have a Feminist Society, who can be contacted at femsoc@rcs.ac.uk
The Principal chairs a quarterly Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Forum to discuss all the EDI issues that are important to students and staff and everyone is welcome to attend. Contact the EDI Team if you are interested in being part of this important group.
We also have the EDI Creative Fund, which provides annual grants to students and staff to explore and develop creative initiatives (performances, practices, productions and/or research) to advance EDI. The EDI Creative Fund is opened every October/November for bids, so look out for the email reminders!
We provide training and workshops on a wide range of EDI issues for all students and staff, including Trans and Gender Awareness, Anti Racist Practice, Active Bystandership, Dignity at Work & Study and Cultural Competency.
All of our policies are constantly under review and we welcome your feedback.
Should you experience any problems, or simply want to discuss any matter at all relating to equality, diversity or inclusion, please contact Roz Caplan or Amadu Khan, the Royal Conservatoire’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Officers, who will be happy to talk to you in confidence.